Woman Without A Home
by Wendymypooh
Summary: Emma Shannon Crandall, newly married and traveling out West with her new husband, learns that home doesn't necessarily mean a sturdy building, but finding shelter in the arms of the man you love.


Woman without a Home

Emma Shannon Crandall carefully packed her Ma's china plates back into their protective straw bedding and securely replaced the lid of the crate. She could still hear her father's deep brogue insisting that she take them with her to her new home in the West. Her brown eyes filled with moisture as she remembered the pained look on Padraic Shannon's face when they said their goodbyes, and recalled the solitary tear that had fallen from her Da's eye while he stood in the farmyard and waved as she and Evan drove away.

Homesickness for her childhood home and her Da swept over her as she lifted the crate to put it back into the wagon, and for a moment, she gave in to it. Then she struggled to gain control of herself, wiped the tracks of her tears away from her face, straightened her shoulders and lifted her head. Although she missed home and her Da dearly, her place was beside her husband.

Evan Crandall had come into her life during the dark days after her Ma had died. She and her Da had been beside themselves with grief over the loss of his beloved life partner and her mother, and Emma had believed she would never be happy again. That was until she had met Evan. From the first time she laid eyes on him, Emma knew he was different from any of the other young men she had grown up with in their small community of mostly Irish settlers in Pennsylvania.

He had an adventurous glow in his brown eyes, a worldly knowledge about him, and was smooth talking to boot. Yet, where he was cocky toward others, he was kind and sweet to her. She had fallen in love with him almost from the moment she set eyes upon him. Her Da was far harder to impress, but eventually Evan's being of Irish blood as they were, had won her father over.

After two months of courting, she was a married woman, and they were living with her Da until they had enough money saved to buy a wagon, team of horses, and supplies to go west. Emma's heart had initially sunk when Evan had told her of his plans for them to head west, because she did not want to leave her Da, but eventually Evan's love of adventure had spilled over onto her, and together they worked to make their dream come true.

Now there they were, three weeks into their trip west, and although she missed her Da terribly, Emma was excited about the prospects that lay ahead for her and Evan. Once she had her Ma's dishes in the wagon, Emma cast a careful eye on the area, in which she and Evan had camped while he repaired one of the wagon wheels, to make sure she had not missed anything.

The grassy meadow was picturesque, with a tiny stream running through it. A circle was burned into flattened ankle high grass and closed in by small stones she and Evan had collected from the stream to make a campfire. She could not find anything that they had not packed away, and not even a wisp of smoke trailed up from the campfire where they had cooked all of their meals. Evan had laughed over her silliness, but Emma had insisted that they use her Ma's dishes for meals to give the place a sense of home, instead of the tin ones they had purchased for the trip.

A muscular arm snaked around her waist and warm lips nuzzled her neck. Emma leaned back against Evan as his other arm rose to encircle her waist from the other side. She enjoyed the feeling of Evan holding her close, and let out a contented sigh. With only the slightest of touches, Evan had the ability to turn her insides to mush and her mind to lustful thoughts. She had never imagined that being in love and married could be so wonderful.

"Time to go darlin'," Evan crooned in her ear.

Emma turned around in his arms and kissed him. Evan reciprocated the kiss, tightening his arms around her, and Emma pressed herself into his body. The passionate embrace continued for a few more moments, before Evan reluctantly pulled away. He took a shuddering breath and then held out his hand to Emma. After a moment of gathering her own wits about her, Emma placed; her hand in Evan's and allowed him to lead her toward the front of the wagon. He assisted her onto the wagon seat before climbing aboard himself. He took up the reins, released the brake and set the matching geldings into motion.

When they had been on the trail for a while, Emma reached through the opening on the canvas covering on the wagon and removed the lap writing desk her Da had carved for her when she was a child. She placed it across her knees, opened the lid, and pulled out a solitary piece of cream-colored paper, a pen, and ink well.

"Dear Da,

I hope this letter finds you in good health. Evan and I are both fine as well. Traveling by wagon is a bumpy, bone jarring experience that is far from pleasant, but I would not trade my decision to marry Evan and head west for anything in the world. My only regret is leaving you behind to fend for yourself. I know the neighborhood women will be kind and bring you baked goods from time to time, but I worry how you will fare for meals otherwise. I wish there had been more time for me to make you a few meals to tide you over a spell before I left, but there had not been. I can hear you telling me not to fret over much about you, but I do Da. If only Ma…"

Emma broke off writing for a moment as sadness gripped her. She knew there was no need in completing the sentence she'd started to write, because dwelling on what should have been wasn't going to do her Da or her a bit of good. She started writing again.

"Maybe you could hire one of the neighbor ladies to cook and clean for you a few times a week, and do some other things around the place as well. Evan believes we will reach our new land before winter, and I have no doubt that he is right. God willing we will be in our new home before the snow flies. As soon as we reach our destination, I will send you word of its general location and describe it to you. I love you Da. Not a day goes by that I do not think of you or wish you were sharing in this adventure with me.

Love, Emma."

Emma folded the letter in half and placed it back inside her desk.

"Writing to your father?" Evan asked.

"Yes. I'll mail it when we come to the next town." Emma told him.

"I don't know what I was thinking taking you so far away from him. We could have bought land near your father, or you could have stayed with him while I came out here and found our land and built a house, and then maybe we could have talked him into moving out West with us."

Emma reached out and cupped his face with her left hand. "I chose to come with you, Evan. I knew it was going to be hard to leave my father, but I could not bear the thought of watching you ride away without knowing if I would ever see you again. I had to come with you now, and I don't regret doing it, regardless of how much I hated to leave my father."

"I know, but…" Evan protested.

"But nothing," Emma interrupted him. "My place is with you. My home is wherever you are."

"I love you Emma Crandall." Evan leaved over and sealed his words with a kiss.

"I love you too." Emma meant the words she told him. She might be a woman without a physical home, but she had a safe haven nevertheless. As long as she and Evan were together, neither of them would ever truly be homeless.


End file.
